let’s #nonewclothes together
In 2020, I committed to not buying any new clothes for six months (@remakeourworld’s #NoNewClothes movement) - which stretched to a year - and now it is a way of life.
As I embarked on my journey of personal consumption vigilance, something really interesting happened. I no longer felt attachment, desire or really anything at all for the clothes that the fashion industry constantly inundates with.
a new trend a week
There are 52 seasons a year in fast fashion.
Yes, that means a new drop of environmentally unfriendly “trends” each week - typically sold at such low prices that it doesn’t take too much thought to realize something quite literally doesn’t add up. These garments are largely constructed by women/POC who aren’t being paid anywhere remotely close to a living wage - and working hours which, in most cases, are a violation of human rights.
There are endless numbers of abuses in fast fashion and hundreds of thousands of pounds of the U.S. 's donated clothing winds up polluting the shores of Ghana and other African countries - not to mention domestic landfills.
Clothing made with non-biodegradable fabric, which is the majority of clothing people currently own, will sit in landfills for up to 200 years - and longer if there is any plastic intermixed. The microplastics problem in our oceans has been largely tied to the fast fashion industry, as the ultra-cheap, plastic infused fabrics created degrade with each wash - and with that, into our water systems, and eventually, oceans.
Humanity faces no bigger threat than climate change, and the fashion industry needs to take responsibility for their role in the steady warming the planet, however, few changes have been clearly set forth - and even fewer of the largest fashion purveyors are proactively acting accordingly on behalf of the planet (ahem, rampant greenwashing).
a money saving call to action
It's time that we as consumers demand better from our brands - and ourselves. One easy exercise in personal consumption evaluation is to go for 30 days without purchasing ANYTHING over $30 - and no clothes whatsoever. When you need something, wait a day and see if you still feel the need. If at the end of 30 days you can continue, do so - and see how long you last. Decidedly not buying new is the first step in addressing your personal relationship to overconsumption.
Not only is it better for the environment to not buy new, buying new is not cool any longer, either. Gen Z is a huge proponent of this trend - in fact, the resale industry is expected to grow 11x faster than the entire retail clothing sector through 2025, according to GlobalData, largely driven by a growing awareness of fast fashion's environmental toll.
is consumerism is a crisis of self-clarity?
It's time to reclaim our individuality in terms of what our own personal style is - not what marketers have told us it should be. There is a world of already made clothing and textiles out there, just waiting for us to put a personal stamp on it. Let's get clear on who we are and, along with that, what we choose to consume.
